Honor of Kings is a fast-paced, team-based multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Tencent, popular in several countries, especially in China. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your gameplay, here are some tips and tricks that can help you improve your performance:
1. Master a Few Heroes
- Focus on a few heroes rather than trying to play them all. Mastering a small pool of heroes allows you to better understand their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, making you more effective in every match.
- Pick heroes that complement your playstyle. Whether you’re an aggressive fighter, a tactical support player, or a ranged marksman, choose heroes that you are comfortable with.
2. Understand Your Role in the Team
Each hero in Honor of Kings falls into one of several categories: Warrior, Marksman, Assassin, Mage, Tank, or Support. Understanding your hero’s role will help you contribute more effectively to the team:
- Warriors: Strong, durable fighters who can deal a lot of damage but aren’t as squishy as assassins.
- Assassins: High damage dealers who specialize in quickly eliminating squishy targets, but they are fragile and need to avoid direct confrontation.
- Mages: Deal area damage from a distance, often with crowd control abilities. They can be devastating when used correctly.
- Marksman: Range-based heroes who focus on dealing consistent damage from afar, often building up damage over time.
- Tanks: Essential for soaking up damage and creating space for your team. Focus on protecting your carries and initiating fights.
- Support: Heal and buff your teammates while controlling the battlefield with crowd control abilities.
3. Map Awareness & Objectives
- Focus on the mini-map. Always keep an eye on the positions of your teammates and the enemy. It will help you plan movements, gank lanes, or avoid getting caught.
- Control objectives. Farming neutral objectives (like the Dragon, Towers, and Jungle camps) can give your team an advantage in gold, experience, and buffs. Make sure to prioritize these over unnecessary skirmishes.
- Ward the map. Use vision to keep track of enemy movements, especially in the jungle. Vision is critical for securing objectives and preventing ambushes.
4. Last Hitting & Farming
- Perfect your last-hitting technique. Secure as many minions as possible to gain gold and experience. You can use the gold to buy items that increase your power and survivability.
- Don’t overextend. Pushing the lane too far without proper vision or backup makes you vulnerable to ganks.
- Use jungle camps wisely. Farming jungle camps in between waves allows you to level up faster and gain gold, so don’t neglect them, but always make sure you’re not risking yourself without proper backup.
5. Itemization
- Adapt your build. While some heroes have recommended builds, it’s important to adapt your item build to the situation. For example, if the enemy is stacking armor, go for more magic damage or true damage.
- Understand core items. Learn the key items that make your hero stronger. For example, mages need mana-regeneration items and cooldown-reduction items, while tanks should prioritize health and defense.
- Upgrade your items correctly. Don’t hesitate to upgrade your items based on how the match is going. Being flexible with your build can turn the tide of a game.
6. Communicate with Your Team
- Use pings. Communication in Honor of Kings is crucial. Use the ping system to alert your team about enemy positions, objectives, or potential threats.
- Stay positive. Encourage teammates and try to keep morale high. A positive attitude leads to better coordination, while toxicity can cause teams to fall apart.
7. Positioning & Teamfights
- Don’t engage alone. In Honor of Kings, sticking together as a team is key to winning teamfights. If you’re playing a damage dealer, stay behind the tank and avoid diving into enemy lines alone.
- Use terrain for advantage. Be mindful of the environment. Engage in narrow areas where you can limit the enemy’s escape routes or avoid getting surrounded.
- Wait for the right moment to engage. Don’t waste your ultimate or abilities too early. Wait until the enemy is over-extended or the situation is in your favor before going in.
8. Know When to Play Aggressive and When to Defend
- Play aggressively when you’re ahead or have a clear advantage, such as after a successful gank or securing an objective.
- Play defensively when the enemy is stronger or when you’re behind. Focus on farming, protecting towers, and waiting for a team opportunity.
9. Jungle Control
- Secure jungle buffs. Buffs can significantly boost your power, so secure buffs like the Red Buff (for extra damage) and Blue Buff (for mana regeneration) whenever possible.
- Counter-gank the enemy jungler. If the enemy jungler is visible on the map, consider invading their jungle to steal camps or ambush them.
- Keep an eye on the jungle entrances. Use wards and position yourself carefully to avoid getting caught while farming jungle camps.
10. Adapt to the Meta
- Stay updated on patch changes. Keep an eye on balance changes, new heroes, and any adjustments to the game’s meta. These can affect hero strength and item builds.
- Experiment with different strategies. Don’t be afraid to try new heroes or builds. You might find new strategies that work well with your team.
11. Learn from Others
- Watch high-level gameplay. Watch professional players or high-ranked streamers to learn strategies, decision-making, and hero usage that you can apply to your own games.
- Analyze your replays. Take time to watch your own matches and identify mistakes, missed opportunities, or poor positioning.
12. Mastering the Control Settings
- Customize your controls to suit your playstyle. If the default controls don’t feel right, adjust the settings to make abilities and attacks easier to execute.
By focusing on these fundamentals, improving your hero mechanics, and communicating effectively with your team, you can quickly raise your skill level in Honor of Kings. Always adapt to the flow of the game and remember that MOBA success often comes from good teamwork, so play with a focus on cooperation and smart decision-making.
